What is the world's most culturally diverse country?
Critical Analysis
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:
What is the world’s most culturally diverse country?
What is the world’s most culturally homogeneous (similar) country?
How culturally diverse is the United States?
This multicultural map of the world is based on an analysis by researcher Erkan Gören who measured the amount of cultural diversity in each of more than 180 countries. To arrive at his estimates, he combined data on ethnicity and race with a measure based on the similarity of languages spoken by major ethnic or racial groups. In your own words, define what it means for a country to be culturally diverse?
Do you think a culturally diverse country is more likely to be violent than a culturally homogeneous country?
Looking for a real multicultural experience? Head to Chad in north-central Africa where 8.6 million residents belong to more than 100 ethnic groups or to Togo, located on Africa’s west coast and home to 37 tribal groups that speak one of 39 languages and share little in the way of a common culture or history. These and other African countries typically rank high on any diversity index because of their multitude of tribal groups and languages. The only western country to break into the top 20 most diverse is Canada.What is one advantage of a society being highly culturally diverse? Cultural diversity and ethnic diversity are not the same thing
But if you find a kaleidoscope of cultures distracting, then consider a visit to Argentina, Haiti or the isolated Comoros islands off the southeast coast of Africa. They rank among the least culturally diverse countries in the world. Why do you think island nations tend to be more homogeneous?
What is one advantage of a society being highly culturally homogeneous (similar)?
Do you think the world is becoming more homogeneous or more diverse?
What do you think is the relationship between the visual on culturally diversity above and the visual on racial tolerance below*?
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
Would you rather the U.S. be more or less culturally diverse? Contact President Joseph Biden and suggest one thing he could do to move the country in the direction you prefer.
Get Creative
If you called up two people at random in your country and ask them their ethnicity, what are the odds that they would give different answers? The higher the odds, the more ethnically diverse the country. What do you think the odds would be in your country? Write a script of an imaginary buy authentic version of this phone call in your country.
